1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of protective devices used in the disposal of hypodermic needles for protection against the inadvertent spread of disease therefrom and more specifically to a safety guard for use in disposing used syringe needles, the guard being adapted to receive and entirely enclose the pointed end of the needle to prevent inadvertent pricking of the hands or other body parts and cause the inadvertent spread of contagious disease carried in blood or other bodily liquids contained within the used needle.
2. Prior Art
Concern over the inadvertent spread of blood carried contagious disease such as HIV and HBV virus, has significantly altered the method in which various medical services are administered in hospitals, doctors' offices, dentists' offices and the like. One such area of concern is the use and disposal of syringe needles and the like because of the extremely high risk of inadvertent pricking of the hands or other body parts with a needle that has already been exposed to blood or other bodily fluids containing a contagious disease. Consequently, the prior art includes issued U.S. Patents which disclose a variety of different means for averting such inadvertent pricking of the hands or other body parts by a used needle. Each such prior art patent discloses at least one device for protectively covering the needle after its use and prior to its disposal so that neither the administering medical personnel, such as a physician or nurse, nor any personnel handling disposed needles, can inadvertently come in contact with the pointed end of the needle. Such contact could, of course, pierce the skin and pass the contagious blood or other liquid to such personnel. In this regard, a novelty search conducted by the inventor herein has turned up the following U.S. Patents which are deemed to be relevant to the present invention to varying degrees.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,612 to Mostarda et al is directed to a safety apparatus for extracting hypodermic needles from a syringe. The apparatus comprises a rigid receptacle 1 having a horizontally arranged longitudinal configuration, V-shaped notches 2 and 2' respectively provided in the upper borders of the front and rear ends, rigid flaps 3 and 3' integrally linked in the notches 2 and 2', a longitudinal slot 4 disposed at the converging zone of the rigid flaps 3 and 3' and having an enlargement 7, projections 10 provided in the facing borders of the enlargement 7 for preventing the release of the rear end of a hypodermic needle 5 extracted from its seat in a syringe nozzle, and a slot 9 projecting downward from the apex of notch 2. Slot 4 is adapted to receive hypodermic needles and is provided with an enlargement 7 adapted to permit the passage of an enlarged rear end or cone 8 of a hypodermic needle, and a plurality of projections 12 and 12' provided on both borders of the slot 4 in the manner of teeth mutually overlaid
U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,243 to Abrams et al is directed to a needle disposal device. The disposal device 1 comprises a container portion having an elongated slit 3 located near the upper surface of the container portion extending along the length of the container portion in an axial direction, a retainer means including a pair of opposing flaps 4 extending a distance into the slit 3, and a U-shaped opening 5 located in one end of the container that receives the neck of a syringe for separating a needle from the syringe neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,722 to Smith, Jr. is directed to a hypodermic needle closure system. The system includes an elongated closure 20 having an elongated slot 30 formed therein, an axial bore 44 communicating with slot 30, a closed upper end 40 and an open lower end 42, a radial enlargement 36 adjacent the lower end 42, and a portion 38 underlying enlargement 36 and having a cylindrical configuration to facilitate engagement of the closure 20 with a needle hub for retention purposes. As shown in FIG. 9, the slot 30 permits lateral insertion of a needle 4 into the closure 20.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,028 to Kennedy et al is directed to a needle covering dispenser. The device comprises a dispenser 10 having an internal cavity 12 adapted to store a plurality of needle covers 14. Each needle cover 14 has an internal cavity 24 that accommodates a needle, an entrance aperture 22 through the internal cavity 24 having upper and lower inwardly angled teeth 28 which grip the base of the needle and secure the needle within the needle cover 14, and wedge-shaped slits 26 on the opposite sides which accommodate needle wings 31.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,569 to Leishman is directed to an apparatus for disposing of contaminated needles. The apparatus 10 comprises an elongated housing 30 defining a passage 31 having upper and lower openings 32 and 33, respectively, and an elongated outwardly opened channel 34 extending along the passage 31 between openings 32 and 33; and a plurality of shields 12 disposed in passage 31. Shields 12 are retained in passage 31 by strips of adhesive 41 and 42, respectively, removably disposed over the upper and lower openings 32 and 33. Shields 12 are made from a suitable material that can be penetrated by the tip of a hypodermic needle. When the device 11 is ready for use, the user simply removes the strip of adhesive 41 disposed over the upper opening 32.
Although many of the aforementioned disclosed prior art attempts at solving the problem addressed herein are functionally capable of achieving the protective result intended by the present inventor, they unfortunately suffer from one or more significant disadvantages which tend to reduce the likelihood of use in an actual hospital environment or physicians or dentists office. By way of example, any of the aforementioned prior art disclosures which require structural, alteration to the syringe itself, would be disadvantageous because of the additional expense involved in making such modifications to the syringe. Furthermore, any such prior art which is designed to operate with syringe needles of a certain diameter or a certain length are disadvantageous because they must be available in a variety of different sizes in order to accommodate different size syringe needles. Even those prior art devices that don't require alteration of the syringe structure and which can accommodate all sizes of syringe needles can be disadvantageous if they are costly because of complex shapes, structures or materials because such devices will be used only once and then disposed along with the syringe. Any such device which significantly increases the cost of using a syringe and disposing of a syringe is unlikely to find its way into actual use or is likely to increase the cost of healthcare which is already under significant rising pressure. Thus, there is a continuing need for a disposable safety device for use on syringe needles which does not present any one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art. More specifically, there is a need for such a safety device which does not require modification of the syringe structure, which does not depend upon the length or diameter of the needle or the size or shape of any other portion of the syringe and which is of relatively simple and low cost design so that it does not significantly increase the cost of administering healthcare and is thus more likely to be used by hospitals, physicians, dentists and the like.